Bacon And Cheddar Are Key Ingredients For Swoon-Worthy Savory Waffles

When you picture a waffle, the first thing that comes to mind might be one that's topped with butter and syrup, whipped cream and fruit, or maybe even ice cream. Waffles needn't always be sweet, though – it's a brave new culinary world out there, and they're now permitted to be savory if they so desire. Well, actually, that's not quite true. Since sentient waffles are not yet a thing, they don't really "desire" anything. It's the cook's prerogative to flavor their waffles any way they wish. In this particular recipe, Mashed developer Catherine Brookes wanted to flavor her waffles with a tasty combination of bacon bits, shredded cheddar, and chopped green onions.

As you might expect, the batter for these bacon-cheddar waffles is not quite as sweet as the batter for a waffle meant to be topped with syrup – our Belgian Waffle recipe, for example, uses about four times the amount of sugar. It also doesn't include any seasonings such as vanilla or cinnamon as these might clash with all of the savory add-ins. Nor are they needed because the bacon, cheese, and onions do all the heavy lifting, flavor-wise. Apart from that, though, it's your basic flour-baking powder-salt-eggs-milk-oil batter, and it cooks up much as any other waffle would.

The very best way to eat these bacon cheddar waffles, in our expert opinion, would be to use a fork. [Insert rimshot.] Okay, now that we've had our Captain Obvious moment, we'll move on to talk about what you might actually put on such a waffle. Well, what with all that salty, meaty, cheesy, oniony goodness, you could opt to eat it plain and not be dissatisfied. However, it would also be eggs-ellent as the base for a breakfast sandwich. You could also add more cheese and melt it to make for an extra-cheesy grilled cheese or make a waffle taco with seasoned ground beef or chicken, salsa, and sour cream.

Sweet and savory flavor pairings are pretty trendy these days, so there's another direction you could go in. Top this cheesy waffle with syrup, or pair it with sauteed apples, pumpkin butter, or strawberry jam. Maybe even add a fried egg or scrambled egg in the latter instance, since eggs go surprisingly well with such sweet ingredients (a secret known since ancient Rome, if not longer).

However you top your waffles, it's best to eat them when they're still relatively fresh. If you have leftovers, though, that's no problem. Let them cool all the way down, enclose them in resealable plastic baggies, and stick them in the freezer. Don't make the mistake of reheating those frozen waffles in the microwave, though – the toaster's the way to go.